How to Get a hardcopy version of Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing

Here are some options:

• most obvious: order from amazon.com (or Amazon UK where the book was one of their Editor's Choices for 1999)

• second-most-obvious: go to Barnes and Noble or Borders, both of which stock the book in most of their stores

• third-most-obvious: go to a technical bookstore, university bookstore, or Microcenter, most of which carry the book

• best citizenship: go to the local independent bookseller that makes your neighborhood a nice place to live and have them order a copy from Ingram (shouldn't take more than a few days)

• signed copy: contact the MIT Press Bookstore (books@mit.edu)

While the print edition is outdated in a few areas (hardware/software choices were more limited then, some companies and products no longer exist), I think it's still worth buying and reading. It goes into slightly more detail than the web pages, and the anecdotes, though somewhat non-sequiturish at times, are hilarious. Best of all, I can read it in bed, without staring at a computer screen.

A used/damaged/overflow/etc bookstore I regularly raid had a few copies of the book come in a couple of months ago. I bought a copy, then coaxed a co-worker (the lead programmer for my work site) to buy one. I also bought a copy for the client I'm moonlighting for; I'm helping him build a site with financial/stock market info, and the book is FILLED with ideas we can use.

Thank you very much for writing it.

-- Faried Nawaz, December 29, 2004

I think Philip is doing himself down. My copy of the book, bought in 1999 is totaly worn out and falling apart. Not because of poor production standards, but because I have read it so often. As the previous reviewer wrote, PAGWP is filled with wonderful humour and sarcastic joy. Philip was able to take what was an interesting if dry subject, database backed websites, and make it genuinely fun.

-- John Holroyd, November 10, 2005

After years of regularly reading this and its predecessor online, I bought a copy of the 'dead tree' version recently.

I wish I had done so earlier.

For a start, it seems to be out of print, and while second-hand copies are available, sales of those won't benefit Philip or the publisher.

It also has magnificent production values, using high quality printing on high quallity, heavy, glossy paper.

This means not only does it look great as a 'coffee table' book, it also solves a major problem with the online edition: if the idiot in charge of your organisation's website won't even consider the possibility that they could be wrong when they break almost every rule suggested in the book, pointing them to the website probably isn't going to help.

But hitting them over the head with a printed version that weighs 1.7kg (3.75lbs) might just get the message through...

I no longer work there, so the guy who still breaks every link to our site about once a month by changing all the URLs and who insisted that no-one wants to read more than two short paragraphs per webpage has had a very lucky escape.

-- Ian Watters, March 20, 2008